<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Speak Any Tongue by admiralandrea</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23981443">Speak Any Tongue</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/admiralandrea/pseuds/admiralandrea'>admiralandrea</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Girl Can Get Burned [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCIS: Los Angeles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Community: trope_bingo, F/M, Genderswap, Languages, Pregnancy, Slice of Life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:54:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>948</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23981443</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/admiralandrea/pseuds/admiralandrea</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A quiet afternoon in the Callen-Hanna house</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>G Callen/Sam Hanna</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Girl Can Get Burned [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1646686</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Speak Any Tongue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is mostly a bit of domestic fluff, although there is mention of pregnancy complications. Part of my always-female-Callen series for Trope Bingo, this is for the Language/Translation square.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>G Callen hates being grounded, hates being confined to home even more. Whenever she’s been injured, she’s always pushed to be back at work as quickly as possible, sooner than the doctors recommend. Even when she was shot five times, she was back at work a month earlier than the doctors had said she would be.</p>
<p>But this time, she can’t do that. She can’t even get out of bed, let alone go out, because to do so would risk the baby. And if there’s one thing she can’t do, it’s risk this baby, *Sam’s baby*, just because she’s impatient and hates sitting at home on her ass.</p>
<p>So she swallows down her impatience and frustration and looks for other ways to pass the time, as she’s even done all her paperwork. This afternoon, she’s propped up in bed, supported by more pillows than she ever imagined owning, reading. She picked up the book of Jean de la Fontaine fables that Sam gave her on her last birthday, in the original French, and is reading them aloud to the baby.</p>
<p>Sam made sure she was well supplied with food and drink before he left for work this morning, including a thermos of tea and a cooler of fruit and bottled water. She only has to leave the bed to pee and it’s getting a bit boring, even with the reading.</p>
<p>Then a noise catches Callen’s attention. She frowns, not expecting anyone. She’d had a text from Ops earlier to say that the case the team had been working on was finished early as the FBI have taken it over. Sam had followed up by letting her know they are doing paperwork for the rest of the day. </p>
<p>She’s heard nothing since, so reaches for the gun under one of the pillows. Sam doesn’t like her having it there, but she insists. They both have plenty of enemies and she has no intention of being left defenseless, should someone track her down.</p>
<p>The bedroom door swings open and she holds the gun steady. </p>
<p>“Whoa G, it’s just me!” Sam is in the doorway, hands raised, looking startled.</p>
<p>“Sam,” she sighs with relief, lowering the gun and flicking the safety back on again. “What the hell’s going on?” she asks, as she shoves it under the pillow again.</p>
<p>He comes into the room fully. “Hetty let us go early,” he says. </p>
<p>“You didn’t think to let me know?”</p>
<p>He shrugs, looking apologetic. “Thought I’d surprise you.”</p>
<p>“You know how I feel about surprises,” she replies.</p>
<p>Sam grimaces. “Yeah, not my brightest idea, maybe,” he admits. Then in a blatant change of subject, he asks, “What’re you doing?”</p>
<p>“Other than dying of boredom?”</p>
<p>“Better than dying from complications due to high blood pressure and a premature birth!” Sam immediately looks guilt stricken at what he has said, as she shrinks back from him against the pillows.</p>
<p>“Sorry, I’m sorry,” he hastily says, hurrying to sit down next to her and draw her into a hug.</p>
<p>Callen resists at first, but when he holds on, still murmuring apologies, she allows herself to relax against him. She blames the tears welling up on her stupid hormones and lets herself cling on a little longer than she would normally.</p>
<p>When she pulls back, Sam still looks guilty and upset by what he said. “I’m so sorry G,” he tells her sincerely.</p>
<p>“I know,” she nods and accepts the tissues he hands her, wiping her face and blowing her nose.</p>
<p>He kisses her forehead. “I know you wouldn’t do anything to risk yourself or the baby,” he says, putting a gentle hand on the huge bump of her stomach.</p>
<p>The baby chooses that moment to kick and the wonder on Sam’s face makes her heart flutter and she sighs, leaning into Sam again.</p>
<p>“I just want this to be over,” she admits in a whisper, almost hoping Sam doesn’t hear, although when they’re this close, there’s no way he wouldn’t.</p>
<p>“I know G,” he says, kissing her forehead again. “Not much longer though.”</p>
<p>He rearranges them comfortably on the bed and picks up her book. “Is this what you’ve been reading?”</p>
<p>She nods, accepting it from him and finding her place once more. “That book said it was good to read and play music to the baby,” she blushes a little as she says it, feeling a bit stupid about it, even though she’s been doing it for weeks, even playing the jazz she hates, but Sam loves.</p>
<p>“That’s why you wanted all those foreign language books for your birthday,” Sam realizes and she nods agreement.</p>
<p>He kisses her. “Not many guys lucky enough to have a partner who can read to their baby in ten different languages,” he says admiringly.</p>
<p>She shrugs a little at the compliment, uneasy as always when someone praises her. </p>
<p>“Will you read some more for me?” Sam asks.</p>
<p>“Really?” She’s surprised by the question.</p>
<p>Sam shrugs this time. “I like listening to you,” he admits.</p>
<p>“Oh!” She can’t help a blush at that. “Okay.” </p>
<p>Callen looks down at the book, deciding to start something new and begins to read, with Sam a warm presence at her side, one hand still resting on her belly. It’s domestic in a way she never imagined she’d be, but she finds she likes it. For once, Callen feels content with her life and the man she shares it with, even realizes she is looking forward to being a mom. There’s uncertainty about her future and whether she’ll return to work and in what capacity, but for the moment, she has this – a quiet afternoon, a good book and her fledgling family to enjoy.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>